Using epidemiological principles to explain fungicide resistance management tactics: Why do mixtures outperform alternations?

Whether fungicide resistance management is optimized by spraying chemicals with different modes of action as a mixture (i.e., simultaneously) or in alternation (i.e., sequentially) has been studied by experimenters and modelers for decades. However, results have been inconclusive. We use previously...

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Main Authors: Elderfield, J., Lopez-Ruiz, Fran, Van Den Bosch, F., Cunniffe, N.
Format: Journal Article
Published: American Phytopathological Society 2018
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/69991
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author Elderfield, J.
Lopez-Ruiz, Fran
Van Den Bosch, F.
Cunniffe, N.
author_facet Elderfield, J.
Lopez-Ruiz, Fran
Van Den Bosch, F.
Cunniffe, N.
author_sort Elderfield, J.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Whether fungicide resistance management is optimized by spraying chemicals with different modes of action as a mixture (i.e., simultaneously) or in alternation (i.e., sequentially) has been studied by experimenters and modelers for decades. However, results have been inconclusive. We use previously parameterized and validated mathematical models of wheat Septoria leaf blotch and grapevine powdery mildew to test which tactic provides better resistance management, using the total yield before resistance causes disease control to become economically ineffective (“lifetime yield”) to measure effectiveness. We focus on tactics involving the combination of a low-risk and a high-risk fungicide, and the case in which resistance to the high-risk chemical is complete (i.e., in which there is no partial resistance). Lifetime yield is then optimized by spraying as much low-risk fungicide as is permitted, combined with slightly more high-risk fungicide than needed for acceptable initial disease control, applying these fungicides as a mixture. That mixture rather than alternation gives better performance is invariant to model parameterization and structure, as well as the pathosystem in question. However, if comparison focuses on other metrics, e.g., lifetime yield at full label dose, either mixture or alternation can be optimal. Our work shows how epidemiological principles can explain the evolution of fungicide resistance, and also highlights a theoretical framework to address the question of whether mixture or alternation provides better resistance management. It also demonstrates that precisely how spray tactics are compared must be given careful consideration.
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publishDate 2018
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-699912019-01-08T06:06:01Z Using epidemiological principles to explain fungicide resistance management tactics: Why do mixtures outperform alternations? Elderfield, J. Lopez-Ruiz, Fran Van Den Bosch, F. Cunniffe, N. Whether fungicide resistance management is optimized by spraying chemicals with different modes of action as a mixture (i.e., simultaneously) or in alternation (i.e., sequentially) has been studied by experimenters and modelers for decades. However, results have been inconclusive. We use previously parameterized and validated mathematical models of wheat Septoria leaf blotch and grapevine powdery mildew to test which tactic provides better resistance management, using the total yield before resistance causes disease control to become economically ineffective (“lifetime yield”) to measure effectiveness. We focus on tactics involving the combination of a low-risk and a high-risk fungicide, and the case in which resistance to the high-risk chemical is complete (i.e., in which there is no partial resistance). Lifetime yield is then optimized by spraying as much low-risk fungicide as is permitted, combined with slightly more high-risk fungicide than needed for acceptable initial disease control, applying these fungicides as a mixture. That mixture rather than alternation gives better performance is invariant to model parameterization and structure, as well as the pathosystem in question. However, if comparison focuses on other metrics, e.g., lifetime yield at full label dose, either mixture or alternation can be optimal. Our work shows how epidemiological principles can explain the evolution of fungicide resistance, and also highlights a theoretical framework to address the question of whether mixture or alternation provides better resistance management. It also demonstrates that precisely how spray tactics are compared must be given careful consideration. 2018 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/69991 10.1094/PHYTO-08-17-0277-R http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ American Phytopathological Society fulltext
spellingShingle Elderfield, J.
Lopez-Ruiz, Fran
Van Den Bosch, F.
Cunniffe, N.
Using epidemiological principles to explain fungicide resistance management tactics: Why do mixtures outperform alternations?
title Using epidemiological principles to explain fungicide resistance management tactics: Why do mixtures outperform alternations?
title_full Using epidemiological principles to explain fungicide resistance management tactics: Why do mixtures outperform alternations?
title_fullStr Using epidemiological principles to explain fungicide resistance management tactics: Why do mixtures outperform alternations?
title_full_unstemmed Using epidemiological principles to explain fungicide resistance management tactics: Why do mixtures outperform alternations?
title_short Using epidemiological principles to explain fungicide resistance management tactics: Why do mixtures outperform alternations?
title_sort using epidemiological principles to explain fungicide resistance management tactics: why do mixtures outperform alternations?
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/69991